In wireless communication represented by communication through a wireless LAN (Local Area Network) compatible with the IEEE 802.11 standard series, many setting items are necessary to be set before use.
Examples of the setting items include communication parameters that are necessary to perform wireless communication, such as an SSID (Service Set Identifier) as a network identifier, a frequency channel, an encryption scheme, an encryption key, an authentication scheme, and an authentication key. It is very inconvenient for a user to set all such items by manual input.
Various manufacturers have devised automatic setting methods for easily setting communication parameters to a wireless device.
Recently, a society called Wi-Fi Alliance has established a standard of a communication parameter automatic setting method called Wi-Fi Protected Setup (WPS), and the method has already been employed in some products (see NPL 1).
In WPS, communication parameters are provided from a communication parameter providing device (hereinafter referred to as providing device) to a communication parameter receiving device (hereinafter referred to as receiving device) through a predetermined procedure and a message. The receiving device becomes capable of wireless LAN communication by setting the provided communication parameters to the device (see NPL 1 for details). In WPS, a communication parameter provided from the providing device to the receiving device is called “Credential”.
In this way, communication parameters can be easily provided from the providing device to the receiving device by using WPS. However, there is a possibility that an unusable communication parameter is provided from the providing device due to a difference in specifications or the like between the providing device and the receiving device. In that case, even if a communication parameter is shared by the providing device and the receiving device on the basis of WPS, there is a possibility that the both devices are incapable of communicating with each other by using the communication parameter. Furthermore, even if the both devices are capable of communicating with each other by using the communication parameter shared thereby, there is a possibility that a malfunction such as garble occurs when information of the communication parameter is displayed in a display unit.
There exists a parameter that is unusable in some countries or regions where communication devices are used. For example, frequency channels use of which is permitted by a law vary in each country or region, e.g., Japan, the U.S.A., or Europe. Therefore, in the case where a communication parameter use of which is unpermitted in a region is provided, performing wireless communication using the communication parameter in the region is violation of law.